Correlations and aggregate statistics in granularpacks

Abstract

We study how the aggregate statistical properties for density fluctuations in granular aggregates scale with the sample size and how such a scaling is associated with the correlations between grains. Correlations are studied both between grain positions and between Voronoï cell volumes, showing distinct behaviors and properties. A non-linear scaling in the aggregate volume fluctuations as function of the sample size is discovered and the connection between such anomalous scaling and correlations is explained. It emerges that volume fluctuations might be described by means of a single universal equation for all samples at all cluster sizes.